Does your family procrastinate when it comes to filing income taxes?

If so, procrastination may work to your benefit.

For one thing, you still have until April 17 to make a 2005 contribution to your retirement account. At the very least, this deadline applies to IRAs, Roth IRAs and Simplified Employee Plans or SEPs.

Meanwhile, this month, banks -- one of the lowest-risk places to park your retirement money -- began looking more attractive.

On April 1, retirement deposits became FDIC-insured to $250,000 per person -- up from a limit of $100,000. Even better, this news hits just as CD rates start looking good. We've seen annual percentage yields as high as 5.20 percent on five-year CDs. That's more than the inflation rate, currently 3.6 percent annually.

That's great news if you're looking for safety and you're in a high income tax bracket. Say you're in the 28 percent tax bracket: Put your CD in a retirement account and you're getting a taxable equivalent yield of 7.22 percent.

Lucky enough to be in the 35 percent tax bracket? Then you're talking a taxable equivalent yield of 8 percent! Not bad for a low-risk investment in today's market.

Under the new FDIC rules, all your retirement accounts at a single bank are added together and the total insurance is $250,000.

These accounts are separately insured from any other deposits you have at the same institution.

Even though FDIC coverage outside of a retirement account is separately limited to $100,000, you can get around this rule. How? One way is to open a joint account. In that case, each person's share is separately insured to $100,000. Also, business accounts you have at the same bank and your share of employer-sponsored pension or profit-sharing plans are separate categories of accounts. Each qualifies for separate $100,000 coverage, the FDIC says.

Trust accounts also may qualify for separate insurance coverage of $100,000 per beneficiary -- not per depositor, under certain circumstances.

Meanwhile, have you taken full advantage of Roth IRAs?

Most experts consider these better deals than traditional IRAs for those in higher tax brackets.

Even though you don't get an upfront tax deduction, you can withdraw tax-free. With traditional IRAs, by contrast, you must start withdrawals at age 70 1/2, and you'll owe taxes on the amount withdrawn.

The key: You must meet IRS rules, which you can find at www.irs.gov.

Like with a traditional IRA, you can contribute $4,000 per year to a Roth IRA, $4,500 if you're at least age 50 in 2005. In 2006, persons who are at least 50 years old can contribute $5,000.

Generally, according to the IRS, you can contribute to a Roth IRA if you have taxable compensation. This includes amounts received for providing personal services, which may include taxable alimony and self-employment income.

What's great about the Roth IRA is you can continue to make contributions even after you reach age 70 1/2, and you can leave money in your Roth IRA as long as you live.

To qualify for tax-free withdrawals, you typically must have the Roth IRA for at least five years and be at least age 59 1/2.

Reminder: FDIC insurance covers your deposits only if your financial institution goes under. It does not cover you for investments in securities, including annuities, at banks. It does not cover safe deposit boxes.

Plus, it does not cover you for such things as fraud or employee dishonesty -- which experts tell us is on the rise. It's a good idea whenever you go to the bank, to deal with different employees. This way if there's a mistake or fraud upon your account, it's more likely to get caught.